Where the fires lead
by Cantfindit8787878
Summary: They knew that Voldemort would go to any lengths to be victorius. That he would harness any power. What they didn't know was the intensity of the blaze he would create and where the fires would lead them.
1. Silk sheets and troubled sleeps

So this is the first chapter if the version of "where the fires lead" that I never posted here.

I warn you all beforehand that one of the main characters in this story is IC, but I swear I will do as best I can to stop her from becoming a dreaded Mary-Sue.

I wrote this pre-sixth book, so it is now slightly AU.

The first few chapters might seem a bit hazy, but I promise all will be revealed as the story progresses. ENJOY!

I do not own any elements of Harry Potter -grumbles-

* * *

_The dark room glowed with the faint light of a taper in the corner. There were many gathered in the room, but their dark cloaks made them more shadow than human. _

_"Bring her forth," commanded a disembodied voice, seemingly from the walls._

_"Let go of me! Let go!" The sound of a struggle commenced and a few cries of pain._

_"Get down girl!" a man snarled. In the light of the candle a cloaked man swiftly kicked the girl to the ground. She hit the ground with a thud, her face contorting betwixt the candlelight and shadow. An expectant silence settled among the deathly figures. Perhaps not to disappoint them the girl caught her breath. Placing both palms against the ground she lifted herself back onto battered legs and turned to face the man who had kicked her._

_A flash of ebony hair, a yell followed by a startled cry, and two forms were on the floor- one in shock and bleeding from the head and another curled in a ball cradling a wounded knee. Whether the attack had been intentional or the product of a well-aimed loss of balance was unclear. Nevertheless the crowd was amused, cruel laughter and anonymous insults flew at the ball-like form. The now unmasked, but still strangely non-conspicuous, figure stood hurriedly in an attempt to regain his lost pride. Replacing his hood with an arrogant flourish, he spat at the girl and made as if to kick her a second time._

_"Enough," commanded the disembodied voice in barely more than a whisper.  
The man froze mid-kick._

_Everyone in the room shivered and stood straight. "No more of this foolishness," he continued. He turned to the girl. "Come to me," he hissed._

_The girl did not move from where she was huddled on the floor._

_Her long hair shielded her face so none could see the acknowledgement of the command or the play of emotions that surely flooded her young face._

_However, just for a second, it seemed as if she hugged herself a fraction tighter, but before one could be sure the girl was on her feet. As she approached the voice she lifted her head from her protective curtain of hair and stared into the man's red eyes, not shying away from their power._

_"I will never let you use me," she spat, venom oozing off every oddly strained word._

_"You'll never have to let me do anything my dear," he cooed smugly. "I will do what I wish."_

_With that there was a flash like lightning that momentarily lit up the room. The girl's eyes filled with terror as the lightning hit her straight in the heart.  
She screamed in pain a scream that filled the room. A scream that continued on and on...  
_

Harry bolted upright from his rest, breathing heavily, the girl's scream still ringing in his ears. He fell back. School was back in session he supposed. He knew that he should immediately inform Dumbledore of his dream, but for some inane reason he wanted to delay delivering the undoubtedly bad news to his headmaster by staying in his bed.

Tomorrow it was back to Hogwarts; he was relieved. Things had been incredibly strenuous at the Order of the Phoenix that summer. Summer days had been spent in the deepest corners of Grimmauld place where only watery sunlight highlighted the numerous spiders' webs and monstrous dust bunnies that needed to be cleaned.

"It isn't safe to go out these days Harry," Mrs Weasley had said, carefully leaving out the _especially not for you. _Her attempts were fruitless; the phrase trailed the sentence nevertheless.

Mrs. Weasley obviously hadn't seen the dust bunnies.

It was understandable- he had told himself many times before drifting off to sleep- but as understandable as it was, no threat of Voldemort presented itself; at least, not until now.

He lay in his bed for a moment before leaping up and grabbing the doorknob. Through the strange murky light of a Grimmauld place dawn, he squinted at a tall, slim figure. It was without a doubt Professor Dumbledore.

"Wait, Professor!" Dumbledore turned to him, his usually sparkling blue eyes filled with concern.

"Yes, Harry?" he asked wearily. He was often tired these days; the youth that had once gleamed from even his most defined wrinkles was now purged from his face. Nonetheless, Harry proceeded with his dream.

"Just now I saw Voldemort." Dumbledore scrutinized him behind the crescent moon glasses; his brow creased suddenly.

"Yes, my boy, please tell me what happened."

"There was this enormous room, more like a dome, dark... except for one massive candle." Dumbledore nodded and Harry continued, recalling the dream vividly. "Hundreds of Death Eaters were against the wall and Voldemort was on a chair at the head of the room. He told them to bring him a girl; she didn't want to go to him. She struggled and managed to hurt a few of them before one Death Eater kicked her to the ground. She stood up and then sort of leapt on one of them. The Death Eater went to kick her again, but Voldemort stopped him. He beckoned her and she said she would never let him use her- I'm not sure what she meant- he told her he'd do what he wanted. After that, he hit her with some kind of spell, and she screamed and I woke up." Harry couldn't help but feel as if he should know more; the ending hung lamely in the air around them.

Dumbledore seemed to pale. A sharp pain surrounded Harry's heart at the sight of Dumbledore's obvious fear. He had never seen Dumbledore show any kind of weakness before, not even in the worst of times, but now he saw it, fear so pure he seemed speechless for several moments. Bugger.

"Anything else Harry?" he asked gently.

"No, sir, she just screamed. The magic...it was like lightning, Professor, what was it?" he asked urgently, wanting a straight answer.

"Harry, I must go; I'm afraid I have some urgent business. Stay here, enjoy your last day before school. You have to go to Diagon Alley don't you? Have fun Harry. I'll see you soon." And with that, Dumbledore walked off, leaving Harry split between annoyance and satisfaction.

* * *

Consciousness slowly returned to the girl. A groan violently forced its way up from her throat, the expression of pain only causing her to writhe more. It was a shame, she thought cynically, that she finally was given such a magnificent bed when she was barely the conscious. It was odd to lie in emerald green satin sheets, velvet quilts, and a black satin canopy after becoming accustomed to the hard floor of her classroom and a pointless cotton blanket. 

A laugh, edged in pain, escaped her causing her small pale form to again be wracked by a wave of pain so great her dark eyes fell back into her head.

A dark man glowered at her from the doorway. His icy features were set in an expression of cruel indifference. His lips were caught in a half-sneer.

Despite the girl's weakened state, she did not lose her resolve.

"Leave, Lucius," her voice was no more than a whisper.

Though her tone was weak, the threat she voiced was nevertheless real, and Lucius took a subconscious step back without realizing it. He cursed himself mentally being so intimidated. Never in his life had he ever let anyone but the Dark Lord command him; and yet this puny girl, who was surely about to die, made his skin crawl with fear.

To prove his superiority over her he swiftly and menacingly made his way to her bed and held his wand to her throat.

"Girl," he sneered, contempt slathered over his tone, "do not try me. You are in no position to do so. If another foolish word escapes from your lips, I will feel no guilt in killing you, and believe me it will not be a slow death." His tone was slow and as dangerous as he could manage. Even so, the girl's cracked lips morphed into a smile.

"Kill me, then." She paused for a second; her eyes, despite their fever, gleamed with a challenge. "I don't care. My death is something I will welcome to stop this."

Fighting words, but as believable as she made them sound, they were false. It's rare to find a sixteen year old who wants to be murdered.

She hated herself for it, but she had to make her death seem less attractive.

"Remember though, Lucius, presenting my corpse to Voldemort will mean something far, far worse than any pain I will feel."

A short growl of frustration escaped his lips and he leapt from the room slamming the door, muttering curses under his breath all the way down the hall.

The girl was left alone; any strength that had come to her while talking to Lucius had gone. She was now left with no distraction from her pain. She tossed and turned trying desperately to find a comfortable position, some place where the shooting pains would subside so she could sleep. But each arrangement brought her new suffering; despite her ever-lowering eyelids, she could not rest. Sighing with resignation, she hoped death would claim her or at the very least the pain would make her faint. Grimacing, she knew however that she had retained too much strength for either of these things to occur.  
"Too bloody strong for my own bloody good," she moaned, willing the world to melt away.

* * *

In a chamber deep below the Malfoy estate, the Dark Lord sat upon his Dark throne. Thousands of Death Eaters still lined the room, not wavering in the least for fear of angering their lord. 

"Sampson," the eerie voice called forth. "How is the shell?" A man, dressed like the others in a black robe, stepped forward; his face was hidden, but under the hood the man was trying desperately to stop himself from crying. He knew that the Dark Lord would soon inflict pain upon him that he would never recover from. He also knew that there was no way of escaping his Lord's wrath. For lack of any other action, he fell to his knees.

"My lord, she isn't ..." he stammered.

It seemed that he was right to be in fear, for Voldemort's serpent-like face showed the first signs of anger. In a voice no human could possibly have uttered, he commanded an answer.  
"She didn't die, my lord. She lives on. She didn't take... I don't understand what happened! She's the right girl, you yourself said this, but she didn't let you use her, Lord. Just as she promised. Sh-she lives on. I d-d-don't know how she did it. She's herself just with y-your power flowing through her... you...you can still control her my...my lord but..." His voice was tinged with terror.

"BUT!" he roared, taking his wand out slowly, purpose clear as water.

Sampson swallowed hard, knowing death was at hand. He bowed his head. "She can resist, my Lord."

A jet of red fire erupted from his wand onto the man. Above the shrieks of Sampson's pain, Voldemort let out a cry of rage that temporarily deafened all who heard it. All around him, Death Eaters winced and cried and fell to their knees. The cry rang out through the manor, knocking Lucius, far above, off his feet. Making a young blonde rise from a troubled sleep. Making a young girl twist in pain. And making a teenager not far off faint in the middle of Diagon Alley.


	2. The morning after

I have always had problems with this chapter. I've tried to improve the flow and make it more my usual voice, but I'm still not pleased with it.

However I feel as if I either need to post it or make it die a horrible painful death.

So I posted it.

Again more back-story- the action starts in the next chapter.

Enjoy!

I do not own Harry Potter or anything related to him.

* * *

"Harry!" Hermione shrieked suddenly as Harry sank to the ground.

"Jesus-" Ron swore. He moved quickly to Harry's right and checked his head for any bleeding.

"What was that?" Hermione asked, obviously shaken.

"I'm not sure Hermione, but he took a nasty blow to the head." Ron patted the side of Harry's face to see if he could get any reaction out of him, murmurs of "bloody hell" occasionally coming from his mouth. Hermione was on Harry's left, biting her nails in worry. "Should we...should we do mouth to mouth or something?"

"He fainted and hit his head, Ron, he didn't drown," she said severely, sounding very much like their Transfiguration teacher, Professor McGonagall. Carefully, she pressed two fingers to his neck. "He's still breathing and he has a pulse," they sighed collectively.

A crowd had steadily gathered around the three of them, watching as the drama unfolded. Not all present had witnessed Harry fall, but those who had had started to fill everyone else in on the story. Yet despite the whispered chatter that passed from one passerby to another, nobody offered aid to the three teenagers. Upon hearing the news, it was almost if shock bound them to the spot at which they stood. This was Harry Potter after all, he couldn't feel pain like they could, couldn't die like they did, could he?

Unaware of the crowd, Hermione and Ron continued to stare down at Harry, willing for him to move, moan, twitch, anything except breathe peacefully.

Uneventful second after uneventful second passed them by, swiftly piling up and turning into urgent minutes.

"He's not waking up, Ron," Hermione said shrilly, trying to blink back tears-- hoping that her friend could come up with a solution that her faultless logic and carefully studied spells could not.

"I know, alright? I can see for myself," Ron snapped. Pressure and grief collected at the boundaries of his consciousness. He couldn't stand this, this moment. _This couldn't be it_; he told himself over and over, _this couldn't be it_.

Hermione's heart seemed to cave in at the sight of the redheaded Weasley's hopeless face. He looked so tired, old. What had happened to them? They had once been so happy. Looking down at Harry's pale face, she remembered the golden boy that had once existed within those features. Unthinking, she slammed her palm into the ground. The accompanying sting and specks of blood went unacknowledged in her grave and wistful face. With a strange kind of defeat she stroked her fallen comrade's cheek. How had they fallen so far, so fast?

Both so lost in their own misery and premature grief, they almost mistook Harry's eyes fluttering open and closed as a dearly desired figment of their imagination. Almost.

"Harry? Harry! Talk to me, Harry!"

* * *

Harry heard the voice as though it traveled through a dream. The world was nothing more than a mass of shapes and variations of color and light. His ears rang and his pulse pounded against his skull, making his already aching head feel as if it were ready to blow. Before long, the incessant ringing was replaced by faint sounds of conversation and Hermione's shrill voice calling his name. He blinked, willing with all his might for the world to steady. He slowly cracked open his eyes to a large amount of bushy brown hair and Hermione's face.

"Harry, Harry please talk to me!" She held his shoulders in a vice grip and shook him.

"Hermione, stop shaking him! No wonder he can't speak, you'll add to his concussion!"

"I'm just trying to see if he's okay!" she shouted back, worried more about Harry's safety than Ron's words. Murmurs of relief were beginning to surface from the crowd.

Ron looked over Hermione's shoulder at Harry's right hand. It had begun to curl into a gentle fist, assuring Ron that he was ok. He let out an inaudible sigh, and then he looked to his right at a witch nearby, holding her shopping bags and looking curiously at Harry. Her eyebrows were joined in the middle, and a mole seemed to attract all of Ron's attention for a moment.

"You" he pointed. "Stop gawking and go to Madam Mioony's and get her to come her quick!" The woman held herself indignantly for a moment, but after reexamining the look on Ron's face, she quickly gave her bags to a man, presumably her husband (he also had a very noticeable mole).

Hermione continued to try and wake Harry from his trance, occasionally tapping him on the forehead with her fingers.

Harry's mouth was exceptionally dry and seemed to crinkle like paper as he swallowed. He began to open and close his mouth hoping that soon he would be able to regain his voice.

Strange strangled sounds came from his throat.

He swallowed again, hoping that this time he would be able to make out some type of word. This time, he was relieved to find that a glass of water was held to his lips. He greedily swallowed, welcoming the coolness of the water moving his parched tongue. In a few gulps, it was gone; Harry took this chance to try his voice again.

"I'm fine," his voice rasped, still weak. He began to sit up, but Hermione put a hand on his chest and slowly set him back down.

"You shouldn't move around too much. You've had a bit of a fall."

"Do you remember anything?" Ron asked, forgetting the crowd.

"Ron don't be stupid he's in no state to answer questions."

"I was jus--"

"Something's happened. **_He's_** livid." Hermione and Ron both looked at him, their faces a shade paler than even when he fainted.

Silence enveloped both Ron and Hermione and, unfortunately, the crowd.

Not wanting to go into greater depth with such a large audience, Harry stayed quiet and feigned head pain.

Bursting out of the crowd like a plump, floral cannonball, a woman that looked remarkably like Madam Pomfrey rushed to his side.

"Hello, Mr. Potter. I'm Madam Mionney. Sorry for taking so long, but apparently even gossip has a limited speed."

Wasting no time, she pushed a ratty pink blanket with an unidentifiable black stain over a great portion of it into his hands "It's a Portkey to St. Mungo's," she informed him, the knowledge making him even more reluctant to hold onto the material than the black stain. He didn't like portkeys. She gestured for Hermione and Ron to grab onto it as well. "Are you ready? One, two, three-"

"I don't need..." Harry started, silenced by a sudden jerk behind his belly button.

For the second time that day Harry's world melted into variations of light and color as the portkey took them, hopefully, to the hospital.

* * *

Sun streamed in from the large window from the right of the room. She hid under the covers to block the harsh light. A knock came at the door causing a groan to emit from the girl- knocks at her door were usually a bad sign.

Despite her best efforts her heart began to race in nervous anticipation and a knot grew in her stomachs accompanied by butterflies. She physically swatted it away to mentally rid herself of her reaction. _Don't be stupid Rave. They can't do anything worse than they already have. Calm yourself for god's sake._ Grudgingly she lifted the luxurious quilt from her head and made an effort to ignore her aching muscles as she sat up against her pillows.

"Come in." She said calmly, her voiced edged with ice. She quickly set her expression to that of calm indifference. She had decided long ago that she wouldn't give any of them the satisfaction of seeing her weak. Even when she was on death's door she had kept that almost majestic arrogance about her; as far as she could see, it had kept her alive and unscathed. At least, unscathed in comparison to what she could have been.

Bringing her attention back to the door, she readied herself for her visitor. In walked a boy of about sixteen, his silvery blonde hair falling into his eyes slightly, he quickly pushed it away to reveal mesmerizing grey eyes. Immediately "Rave" let her guard down.

Draco Malfoy looked at her for a second, staring at her as if observing a ghost.

She smiled at him.

"What? You're surprised? You should've realized Draco it takes a lot more than that to get rid of me." Her voice was light and teasing but it sounded more tragic than either of these. In one swift motion he was beside her on the bed. She tried hard not to grimace from the pain the movement of the bed gave her.

"My father told me what happened. You've really done it this time Rave. The whole manor is in chaos, you should have heard Voldemort..."

"I did" He continued to look at her his eyes bright with wonder and disbelief, his voice was distant and unsteady as if he wasn't really concentrating on what he (or she) was saying.

"Oh, right...he hasn't hurt you has he?"

"Well the whole process wasn't exactly a picnic Draco," she snapped at him sarcastically. Then, regretting losing her temper at him, she apologized.

"No, it's my fault. I'm sorry Rav it's just a little hard to process this. I hoped...but I knew it was almost impossible...I expected you to be a shell...dead. And when you weren't that I expected to see him in your eyes, I was ready for that. I was never...I wasn't...I never prepared myself for this. You, here, living, breathing, talking to me..." he trailed off and continued to take in every detail of her face watching her every movement as a Lion might its cub.

Hesitantly he reached out to her, as if to confirm she was really in front of him. He let his finger trail down from her cheek to her chin, down to her neck until it rested upon a silver necklace.

"This is new."

Bitterly Raveyn Wilkes looked down at where his hand rested. The necklace was of the purest wizard silver the chain itself held an eerie incandescence to it. Contrasting to the warm light of the sun it seemed to shine with a cold, and definitively magical, glow. At the end of the chain was a large and exquisitely cut sapphire of the deepest blue. When examined closely, it seemed to be filled with dark swirling depths, resembling a stormy sea, the blue turning almost black.

This was no ordinary sapphire. It tingled to the touch, giving the examiner a hint of what lay in the heart of the gem, inside was a magic as ancient and as powerful as one could possibly imagine. Whether it was good or ill none would be able to decipher but its intensity alone caused any who touched it to immediately become overcome by fear.

Draco quickly retracted his hand and looked up into Raveyn's eyes for explanation.

"It's my collar," she told him bitterly "as long as I wear it he can find me wherever I am and attempt to control me." Her voice was filled with barely restrained anger and indignation. "I guess handcuffs would interfere with his plans".

Shaking her head and taking a few deep breaths she calmed down.

"You can't take it off?" The question was more of a statement than anything else. Raveyn quickly shook her head. Draco nodded.

"Not that I've tried too hard, I've only just been able to sleep...but from the attempts so far it seems that its more than a goddamn clasp holding this damn thing together." Draco sighed loudly and shook his head

"Bastard." He spat vehemently, that was until he realized where he was and who lay merely a few stories below him, then his anger dissolved and was replaced by merely a fervent concern.

"At least it's over now, there's no cloud hanging over us anymore. It's all over and done with and for now I highly doubt Voldey," she waited to see if she would be struck down where she lay for using such a pet name before continuing on. "I doubt _he_ will try anything. The main thing is I can resist. It may not be much but it's enough."

Her hopeful tone caused a cloud to pass over Draco's face. Raveyn may have won this battle but it was no guarantee she would win the war. He had only foreboding for what lay ahead of her, what lay ahead for them. He couldn't let her become complacent. It killed him, but he couldn't allow her to celebrate her survival, not yet at least.

Grave, Draco looked into her eyes again.

"You know this changes nothing." Her expression morphed to match his own; she nodded.

"I know," She thought for a second, she knew it was silly, and that to be so was probably putting her life at risk, but she was still optimistic. Whether it was misguided optimism or not, she couldn't tell. But for the time being, it was enough.

For the time being, she still had her life; for the time being, she was safe; for the time being, she was with Draco. She could not stand to speculate and worry over her future, to reflect on what she had endured just a few days before. The only way to keep her sanity was to live in the moment.

And in that moment she was relatively happy. What would come would come, and she would face it when it did. _And you never know, perhaps at Hogwarts things will be easier; I may even learn something. Maybe..._


	3. Going through the Motions

Aboard the Express we go at last

* * *

I do not own or control any of the characters in this story except for Raveyn and Madam Mionney. J.K. just let's me play with them once in a while.

* * *

The sounds of feet running back and forth above his bedroom groaning he rolled over. His head still ached from the day before, the actual surgery, so to speak, at St. Mungo's had barely taken more than a few seconds, but he was forced to stay in the hospital for several hours with nothing to do but stare at the tiled ceiling.

The people there obviously didn't realize this was the worst thing they could have done to Harry.

Not wanting to sleep Harry was left alone with the haunted thoughts of the last few months and the worries of what was yet to come. He went over every second of that fatal night in the Department of Mysteries, still not forgiving himself for Sirius' death. Then his thoughts turned to what could soon be the end of his young life. He knew Voldemort would waste no time in getting him out of the way. The longer he was alive the more of a threat to Voldemort he was causing Harry to be painfully aware of his own mortality. The past day had not improved his mood by any means. _Maybe when I reach Hogwarts things will be different. At least I'll have a little freedom there..._

After being locked up in the Order all summer he had become restless he often had paced his room like an animal in a cage. But of all the things he missed locked away all day long had been the ability to fly. Oh how many hours had he spent dreaming of Quidditch and Snitches! Of the wind running through his hair, of the adrenaline pumping through his veins, of feeling the air pass through his fingers like liquid. With a new fervor he got out of bed and dressed. He packed the stack of books and supplies Hermione and Ron had picked up for him after he was taken to the hospital the day before.

After checking Hedwig was securely in her cage he took one last look at the room that had once been Fred and George's. He took a deep breath and opened the door to meet the others. The remainders of the Weasley children were assembled at the door, he remembered the days when there had been a whole passel of them. Now it was only Ron and Ginny, it was disconcerting in a way that the warm teasing group had so suddenly disassembled. Hermione soon joined Ron and Ginny at the door. Harry watched them for a few moments they were so close and yet they seemed worlds away to him, they still lived in the bright vivid world he'd once known. He wished he could join them there but all he could feel these days was a suffocating numbness. They saw him standing there and smiled but behind their smiles he saw the worry in their eyes. The worry that had grown day-by-day since they had left Hogwarts, it was an unspoken black mark between them. They could feel the difference in him but never dared to confront it, never asked him what was wrong. He hated them for it, just as he would hate them if they made an attempt to ask him what was wrong. He was lost in his own self-pity and as far as was concerned no one could do right by him.

And yet no matter how much he despised them for not understanding, or understanding too well, he still loved them both, still craved their approval, still wanted to be part of their lives. But as it stood, with his life as it was-- a walking oxymoron, he couldn't fall back into the days when their friendship had been so easy. He wished with all his heart that he could say a magic word and change the grayscale his life had become back into a bright Technicolor. But he knew it would take more than a simple spell to correct things between them.

He flashed them a quick vibrant smile, and walked over to them. He joined in with their lively conversation and jokes while Mrs. Weasley ran around the house like a headless chicken determined that they were missing something. He laughed with them, he smiled with them, he teased with them but they all knew he was just going through the motions.

The ride to the station was smooth and uneventful, quite a change from the usual hustle and bustle that came with catching the Hogwarts Express. For once, they even arrived with time to spare and he couldn't seem to overcome the eeriness of them being able to comfortably find their own compartment.

Hermione and Ron decided that they would stay with Harry this year instead of going to the Prefect cabins.

"We'd much rather stay with you."

"The novelty's warn off a bit since last year, and the cabins aren't anything special." Hermione elbowed Ron in the stomach.

"Wha' was that for!" Hermione rolled her eyes at his pained expression.

"Tact Ron, something you seem to lack." He gave her an annoyed look; with his ears blazing red, he turned to sit down.

Several students walked through their compartment to reach another cabin. Some stopped to chat, but were soon on their way. It wasn't long before Harry caught a glimpse of black hair and a familiar Ravenclaw's face.

"Hi Harry," she said smiling somewhat bashfully. Harry smiled and nodded back, Cho blushed at this and Harry had to smother a grin as Ron rolled his eyes behind her back. She was obviously waiting for him to say something, and he was quite determined not to; thankfully, after a few awkward moments of silence she waved goodbye and made a swift exit.

"Please tell me you're not going to go through that again Harry."

"Don't worry I'm not going to. Last year was enough to put me off girls for life."

"Not surprising, bloody confusing things. They say one thing when they really mean somethin' else and then they get angry when you don't realize what they really meant. Bloody strange the lot of them." He leant back against his seat ignoring the dagger like looks both Hermione and Ginny were giving him.

"For your information Ronald," she told him in her best bookwormish voice, "We are not strange an--" Interrupting her sentence Luna entered the compartment sporting a red cap with antlers sticking out the top. After giving each of them a silent greeting she sat down and proceeded to take out and study what seemed to be some sort of Fungus, Harry couldn't say he was very surprised when the fungus morphed into the shape of two legs and started tap dancing along the table, making a strange squishing sound with each step. Ron turned back to Hermione who was staring at Luna with her eyebrows knit together in a mix of confusion and utter disbelief.

"You were saying..." Hermione looked at him impatiently,

"Well there are exceptions to every rule." She told him abruptly. Shaking her head and raising her eyebrows as if to say _I don't want to know,_ she buried her head in a very large volume. Next to join them was Neville, who had amazingly grown several inches over the summer.

The journey passed peacefully, with the occasional conversation interrupted by the consumption of chocolate. Halfway through the journey though Harry noticed something very odd.

"Shouldn't we have had a visit by now from the amazing bouncing ferret?" All the members of the cabin looked up, Ginny looked at her watch while Luna and Neville both scrutinized the cabin as if Malfoy and his cronies would jump out from behind something any minute. Ron stood and looked into the window in the door separating the compartment from the others, presumably to see if Malfoy was anywhere in sight. Hermione was lost in thought when suddenly she asked,

"Have any of you seen _any_ Slytherins at all since we got on?" Each person thought back and each came up with a blank.

"No,"

"None"

"Not even a glimpse."

Harry Ron and Hermione exchanged a worried look.

"Maybe Dumbledore finally kicked the lot out."

"Come off it Ron he wouldn't do that."

"You never know, with you-know-who about it could be a threat to the other students."

"No," Harry interjected, "he didn't even do that during the war. Why would he this time?" Ron shrugged.

"I agree with Harry there's no way Dumbledore would get rid of them, there must be something going on..."

"I look around the train a bit," Ginny offered only to be immediately shut down by her brother.

"No, Ginny you stay here I don't want you anywhere near that git." Ginny sighed resignedly and nodded. She knew all too well that arguing with her brother was fruitless.

"I'll go," standing up Harry quickly exited before anyone argued with him. He passed through filled compartment after compartment looking around quickly at each, still not seeing a glimpse of a Slytherin. After going through an endless chain of cabins, _who knew how big this train was?_ he came to the last three cabins. He reached out to touch the door only to find that it had been blocked somehow. He quickly examined it, he was tempted to use alohomora but considering the fact that the door had no keyhole he wasn't sure if it would work. Just as he pulled out his wand the blind, which covered the window in the door, flew open and he was greeted with the angry swarmy face of Draco Malfoy. The door opened, Malfoy Crabbe and Goyle stepped out blocking the contents of the cabin door.

"What do you want Potter" Malfoy spat, his eyes filled with hate. Harry stood his ground giving Malfoy a bored expression.

"I was just curious why you hadn't made a snide appearance in our cabin yet Malfoy, we were worried." Malfoy looked as if he were about to kill Harry right then and there, but before he could open his mouth a loud noise erupted from the cabin behind them. It sounded as if there was some type of fight going on, Malfoy immediately turned and entered the cabin. Harry tried desperately hard to see over Crabbe and Goyle to see what was going on, his efforts were useless for despite the fact they were facing inside

Crabbe and Goyle were as tall and wide as the doorway causing them to form a makeshift door. It didn't matter anyway because the scuffle sounds subdued in seconds, becoming no more than the occasional swear word and sigh. Malfoy reappeared from in between Crabbe and Goyle.

"Sod off Potter go back to your own kind, we don't want you here." With that all three of them reentered the cabin, shutting the door, and lowering the blind giving Harry no time to even catch a glimpse at the inside of the cabin. Frustrated that he still didn't have the answer to why all the Slytherins had migrated and angry that Malfoy had dismissed him like that he made his way back to the cabin.

Meeting his friends' questions with a mere shrug he sat down by the window and spent the last hour of the journey to Hogwarts staring at the scenery. Thinking about anything and everything, wondering if he'd always spend his life just going through the motions.


	4. First Impressions

Harry, Ron, Hermione, Luna, and Neville made their way to the great hall. As the thestral drawn carriages drew up he noticed that their eyes seemed to flame with an even fiercer and threatening red than the year before. A shiver ran down his spine as one looked him in the eye. Still curious about how the Slytherins were acting he watched as a huge clump of them moved to the back of the line of carriages. The night was dark and the moon wasn't casting much light but he swore they were trying to keep something out of view from the other students.

Luna who was just getting into the carriage was also watching the Slytherin's strange behavior, she and Harry exchanged a strange look. Just as they were all getting inside their own carriages a figure who was unmistakably Dumbledore approached them. Harry watched as the headmaster went up to Malfoy and started talking to him, it was the first time he had ever seen Malfoy talk to a teacher other than Snape without a smirk on his face. He vaguely made out Malfoy nodding, but what happened after that was anyone's guess. One minute Dumbledore stood by Malfoy's carriage door the next he made one sweeping gesture and disappeared. Harry thought he saw some sort of shape going with him but couldn't be sure.

The Slytherins now seemed to be acting with relative normality and entered their carriages. Harry withdrew his head from the window and sat back down in his seat, Luna climbed up and sat by him.

"Something's going on." She told him under her breath while the rest of the cabin were engaged in a conversation about quidditch.

"Never would have guessed," he replied sarcastically giving her a sidelong look. Luna rolled her eyes.

"Don't be stupid Harry it doesn't suit you. Neither does self pity, I'm just saying watch out." She quickly moved over to the other side of the carriage by Neville and joined in the conversation with the others. Harry started to feel guilty over his treatment of Luna, he had a strange affinity towards her and of all the others she seemed to understand best about his feelings over Sirius' death. He wanted to say sorry but something stopped him. He had the sudden urge to bang his head against the carriage. _I've really got to get my act together otherwise I'm going to lose everyone._

* * *

After Dumbledore had literally whisked her away from the Slytherins Raveyn took a few seconds to get her bearings. When she did she was met with smiling blue eyes and the first friendly face she'd seen all day.

"Sit down my dear, you still must be quite weak." Raveyn sat down in the chair he gestured to, for a few seconds there was a strange silence as Dumbledore examined the girl in front of him. "I wasn't quite ready for how much you would like your mother," he explained quietly. Raveyn smiled gently, not quite knowing how to respond. She didn't know this man; hell, she barely knew her mother, what was she supposed to talk about with him?

"People say I'm the spitting image of my father actually."

_Well done Rave, you almost sound normal, after three months in Malfoy Manor I'm surprised you still have it in you. Now if you would just stop have silent conversations with yourself we might be onto something…._

Dumbledore smiled and laughed quietly. Raveyn looked up at him, was he laughing at what she had just said aloud or the verbal battle inside her head?

"I suppose you are my dear, it seems it's possible to be the image of both mother and father at the same time." _Maybe the Malfoy's were wrong when they assumed he could read minds._ She pondered this for a moment.

Her eyes grew sharp whilst lost in thought, like a hunter judging prey. Dumbledore's face-hardened; all thoughts of her mother and father were forgotten.

"Raveyn I need to talk to you about what has happened. My doors are always open for you of course, but the safety of--"

"You don't have to explain," she smiled, but inside she was dying. _Where was a convenient big, black hole when you needed one? Honestly? They really should be more accessible, especially to girls whose very existence seems to be considered a health risk. _She looked up at Dumbledore, feeling strangely stupider for feeling embarrassed.

She was sure that behind those neutral crystalline eyes he had to be reading her like a book, her every insecurity in plain sight. A person with that kind of insight was dangerous. Behind her vision flashed a dirt floor and cruel eyes. She blinked the flashback away before those eyes could smile.

Dumbledore was watching her again; she guessed that he expected her to continue after she had interrupted him. She wanted to, but somehow her voice was lost as she stared into his sparkling eyes.

Something in those playful yet indifferent depths caused her to decide in that moment that she liked him, she didn't care if he saw through her—she had nothing to hide from him. She always assumed she would find him to be an ally when she arrived at Hogwarts just because he was her enemy's enemy; but, she realized, there was more to it than that… something deep within her nature told her to trust him.

The corners of his mouth seemed to smile a little; though his expression was still grave. She finally opened her mouth to speak.

"Where to start?" _Seriously, where to start? _"I suppose I should tell you it didn't work." _Yes that is a bit of essential info Raveyn._

Unconsciously her hand rose to the now familiar necklace about her neck, Dumbledore's eyes rested on it, she noticed his muscles tense slightly. She continued, but with a little less confidence. "What I mean is it didn't work completely, when he bound me to him, I didn't…" she couldn't think of the right word, "take?" she ended pathetically.

Dumbledore raised his eyebrow; she really felt as if her soul was on show then, as if he was scouring it for something. After several moments he sighed and leaned back.

"You understand why I hesitate Raveyn, this kind of magic has never failed to my knowledge." Raveyn looked down, she couldn't deny that even though she was happy she wasn't some kind of shell that she wasn't worried about why the spell hadn't worked. She had spent many hours staring at her bed sheets, wondering what this could possibly mean for her while she had been recovering in her room at the manor.

The whole situation was so frustrating. She started fiddling with her hands in her laps, watching her thumbs fight out her inner turmoil. Finally, she raised her eyes to Dumbledore's. her expression defiant, resolute.

"I'm not lying Dumbledore, I may be somewhat tied to him but I'm still myself. Malfoy can attest to that, if you'll believe him that is. I know the word of Lucius Malfoy's son isn't much but..." she trailed off for a second before coming back to earth. "I can resist Dumbledore, I haven't had to yet but I know I can. I know what they want me to do and I am determined not to go along with it. I've never bowed down to anyone and I'm not about to start." The fire in her eyes made Dumbledore smile. He could see clearly that although Voldemort lurked in the depths of her mind she was no more dangerous than Harry, at least for now.

"Well my dear, with the circumstances as they are let me explain some...guidelines to follow. And what you should do when Voldemort decides to drop in.

* * *

Harry was starving. He couldn't believe how many first years there had been! If the list had gone on much longer he would have been tempted to start chewing on the tap dancing fungus Luna occasionally had brought out of her pocket during the sorting. Finally Dumbledore stood up to make his traditional pre dinner speech, he hoped that it would be a short one.

"Settle down now settle down" Dumbledore raised his arms and immediately the great hall descended into silence. "I have an announcement before we eat tonight." The giant oak doors of the great hall swung open and in came a figure. It was a girl, around Harry's age, she was maybe an inch shorter than Hermione yet the way she carried herself made her seem significantly taller than she was. Ripples of raven black hair flowed across her shoulders shrouding her face. She walked with a gentle elegance and power about her, which seemed almost majestic. Immediately his hunger vanished, swallowed up by curiosity.

Ron, Harry and Hermione exchanged a look of confusion. Harry watched her every move. This girl hadn't come in with the other new students and her figure told him there was no way she could be a first year. And there was something else about her that bothered him. She seemed so incredibly familiar, but he couldn't place where he had seen her before. The effort of remembering was too much for him and his head was enveloped in pain. He still hadn't fully recovered from his head injury and he found remembering things tried his brain a lot more than thinking normally.

The hum of dozens of voices whispering in wonderment broke the hall's silence. Harry let his eyes leave the mysterious new figure for a moment to wander the other occupants' reactions. Maybe he wasn't the only one that recognized her, but each face he examined was as confused as the next. Finally his eyes rested on the Slytherin table.

Almost all of the faces were indifferent. Harry didn't expect the Slytherins to react the same way as the rest of the school (that would be too common for them), but the Slytherins weren't that skilled at hiding their true emotions, and when Harry saw that a vast majority of the Slytherins had no surprise at all in their eyes he became more confused.

Where had he seen her before? And where had the Slytherins seen her before—it was the only possible reason they were so subdued while the rest of the school was buzzing.

Finally his eyes rested upon Malfoy. There was an emotion in Malfoy's face he had never seen before, but before he could put a name to it Dumbledore asked for silence.

The girl walked up to the headmaster and waited by his side. "We have a new student at Hogwarts. "At this confirmation the entire Hall quickly erupted in a mass of murmurings. But looking at Dumbledore's face they all abruptly stopped. "As you may have guessed, Raveyn," He took a pause for her name to sink in with the students, "Is not a first year." He continued. "She has been transferred here after going through several different wizarding schools. She will be joining the ranks of the sixth years. Now if I can hold your attention for a little bit longer, she must be sorted." He gestured for Raveyn to sit on the stool. She walked to it without hesitation or signs of nervousness.

Ron turned to Harry and Hermione and whispered "Bloody 'ell. She's calm I almost cried going up there and that was with the rest of the first years. Imagine doing it alone." Harry smiled at this and silently he agreed with Ron. He'd face the dark lord any day but being sorted alone in front of the entire school… not his cup of tea. Hermione retorted in hushed tones.

"Not everyone's as in touch with their feelings as you are Ron." Hermione turned away to watch smirking. Ron's ears turned pink, he opened his mouth as if to say something but then thought better of it and shut it again.

Harry's attention turned back to the girl, Raveyn, awaiting the hat to be placed upon her head. Apparently the hat had a song just for her. Just as it was about to sing Raveyn looked up through her eyelashes. Harry's sparkling green eyes met her intense black orbs. They were so dark they would have been an abyss if not for the reflection of the candlelight in them.

An attention-seeking cough escaped from the hat breaking their brief connection.

_You've heard my song before this night_

_But never quite like this_

_A pretty girl has entered our sight_

_Without warning, is something amiss?_

_She isn't the age she should be_

_She isn't what she's not_

_Don't trust what you see_

_Hidden inside of her is something time forgot_

_Here she will find love_

_Here she will endure pain_

_For you see this white dove_

_Knows something she won't name_

_Will her time here be spent_ _in Slytherin, with smoke and jeweled mirrors as her lot?_

_Or will she live in Ravenclaw, which suits her does it not?_

_Perhaps in Hufflepuff she should earn her fame?_

_Or is it the lion's den that her dice hath lain?_

_In Griffindor? Such fate might not please._

_But I had better find out, so that empty bellies can eat some cheese. _

The hat's serenade ended and nobody knew quite what to make of the song it had sung. Malfoy thought over what it had said for a moment and frowned. He hadn't liked how the song had sounded. Throughout his eyes had never left Raveyn's and he'd seen the worry and surprise in her eyes when the hat seemed to touch on subjects that were not meant to be heard. He was proud though that she never let her mask slip, she was still the picture of calm confidence.

He watched as the hat was placed upon her head, he knew that she would be placed in Slytherin. It was part of the plan and everyone knew it, with Voldemort's influence upon her how could the hat not sort her with him? He tried to ignore his clenching stomach. There was always a slim possibility….He shook his head dismissing the thought.

He watched her sitting there, her eyes staring into nothingness, lost inside of herself. He hadn't expected it to take this long...

* * *

_So my dear you're at Hogwarts finally. I knew you had to come sometime, despite everything. _Raveyn didn't know what to think. _Oh yes I know all about you Raveyn._ After a beat it corrected itself._ Rave._

There was a short pause before it continued.

_I knew your mother and father and brothers. I even knew your stepmother._

_Hmm... so it's happened I see...such a shame. Of course there have been whispers…._

_So the plan is for you to go into Slytherin then? Well I suppose that could be the choice I make._

Raveyn tensed.

_Ahh you don't want to go along with the plans? Good._

_You've fought your way here I see. _

_You would make an amazing Slytherin though...its all here in your mind, I see it all. But your heart Rave and your spirit I see those too. They both still shine true. Hmmm… so much lies in the choice of a talking hat. It really is quite ridiculous. Though technically it is not I who make this decision but what lies between your ears- an idea just as ridiculous if you ask me. _

_What webs! What paths! But that is the nature of mortals. _

_You're very strong, intelligent perhaps a little too stubborn... ahh choices, choices. _

_You **are** sure you don't want to follow the plan Raveyn?_

**I don't want to be evil **she wished.

The hat twitched lightly.

_I know you don't Raveyn. Fight on my dear, remember, nothing can control you without your permission. You have your own light that guides you through the darkest places. You just have to have faith._

**What do you mea--**

"GRIFFINDOR!"

* * *

Cheers rang out on the Griffindor table and the whole hall clapped. All except for the Slytherins. The sons and daughters of death eaters looked at each other in dismay.

Goyle murmured to Malfoy "this is bad." Malfoy nodded in agreement. This _was_ bad and even though the decision had been completely out of his hands he knew he would be punished for it. Someone had to be.

But that wasn't what troubled him the most. He had wanted Rave to be with him at Hogwarts, but even more so he had wanted Raveyn far away from Harry Potter.

"Damn" he swore under his breath.

* * *

Raveyn stepped down from the stage. She turned to Dumbledore and saw that his eyes were filled with pride and perhaps a little relief. She smiled a secret smile to herself, _Raveyn two Voldemort one_.

She looked up and down the Griffindor table at the friendly and yet apprehensive faces. She didn't know where to go, immediately she wished there had been a spell to make it seem she wasn't new. A voice from behind her interrupted her thoughts.

"Raveyn you can sit here if you want."

She turned to the voice and there was the pretty brunette who had been dutifully described in detail to her by Draco. She was just as she had pictured. _Well, wasn't that the point of those hours of descriptions Rave? _

Ignoring herself, she smiled at the girl she had longed to meet for so long despite all Draco had told her, and slid in beside her. Finally dinner was served, and no matter how prepared she was for the sudden appearance of the meal she couldn't stop her surprised reaction and a slight jump. She looked up to find Harry's eyes on her.

Harry knew he had seen her somewhere before but couldn't place her. Her reaction to the food bothered him even more; it was as if she'd never experienced the magical world before. She raised her eyebrow slightly; prompting him to ask her what was on his mind. Their view of each other was partially blocked by Ron reaching over to grab some of the cheese promised to him by the sorting hat.

"Your other schools didn't use magic at meals then?" Raveyn paused and swallowed her mouthful of potato.

"Well, not exactly. Not every school is like Hogwarts; actually, I haven't been to one like this before."_ Points for not lying. This won't be too hard…_

"Your parents never served dinner like this?" Ron said with a mouthful of chips. Raveyn remembered her father's Macaroni Cheese; it had always tasted pretty magical. A smile spread across her lips.

"No we never used magic at home."

"You're muggleborn?" asked Hermione. _Hmm, trust Hermione. Well here goes. If you pull off this backstory Rave, you will have earned yourself some of that chocolate cake. _

"No my parents hid the fact that they were wizards and witches until just before I attended my first school, I was brought up as a muggle. When they told me I was a witch... well I choked on my breakfast and had to be given the Heimlich."

They all smiled a little at her story, seemingly having heard stranger things.

_Make way for the chocolate massacre!_

* * *

Harry watched her as Raveyn and Hermione started to get to know each other.

She seemed to be intelligent, maybe even more than Hermione. But her attitude towards school seemed to be more relaxed; her academic achievement, it seemed, came naturally and she wasn't driven to obsess over it. If she had, Hermione might have had her work cut for her out to remain number one student at Hogwarts.

Her eyes sparkled and her mouth always seemed to be smiling, not in an obnoxious peppy way; it was an easy friendly smile that played across her lips. He couldn't help but smile with her.

* * *

Raveyn watched as Ron and Hermione squabbled over the amount he was pouring on his plate. It was so nice to have dinner without the awful tension or fear she had been used to at Malfoy Manor. Hogwarts was warm and magical. A haven from the rest of the world, immediately she was home and the need for her family left her. She was safe and happy, surrounded by people she could relate to (even if Ron seemed to be a bit reluctant to include her and Harry barely said a word).

Raveyn wished she could entice Harry to say more about himself, she felt strangely drawn to him, attached in someway. This wasn't really a surprise; after all, if part of Voldemort now lived in her, so did a part of Harry.

She shivered at this sudden realization.

Her ebony eyes leaving Hermione's pleasant smile for a moment, she looked over at the boy with messy black hair and green eyes. He was content, murmuring to Ron and eating.

How carefree he must be to have no real hold of the big picture, to have the kind of resistance against Voldemort as he had. _I wish…_ But she left the thought at that, and turned back to Hermione.

She could not resist interaction with him for long though. Being so close to him, it was almost as if she could hear his memories, his experiences. Every reference to the past that Hermione made, Raveyn had an immediate visual of. The slideshow of his experiences was entrancing.

At one point he reached over and grabbed a pastry filled with ginger. He tasted it, and Raveyn could almost feel it on her tongue at the same time. And with the strange exotic taste causing her taste buds to dance she was entreated with an image of deep crimson hair being whipped around; the facets of red in each strand dazzling in the sunlight.

Something strange happened then, her train of thought seemed to divert away from his and yet she was seeing the same crimson hair, smelling the same ginger, just from a different angle. The thought progression halted suddenly, she realized her mouth was hanging open; she closed it abruptly and looked over at Harry.

He seemed just as dazzled by the vision as she, a sadness crept into his eyes. Despite her confusion, she could feel nothing but sympathy for him then and wanted more than anything to tell him that she understood. _Understood? Understood **what** exactly?_

This was all becoming too confusing.

After discussing the finer points of astronomy with Hermione, Raveyn turned to Harry, wanting to have a bit more _normal_ interaction with him.

"So Harry, from what I've heard you had a childhood similar to mine."

He looked up at her and smiled a bit mischievously. She couldn't help but do the same.

"In a way, I was brought up the same way except with my Aunt and Uncle...it wasn't a pleasant experience"

Raveyn nodded recalling images of Harry's childhood. Harry brought her back to earth by asking her a question that she heard vaguely in the back of her mind.

"I really loved my childhood, I had a wonderful time it was filled with magic and warmth" She told him with a passionate nostalgia she had not anticipated. She was more homesick than she let herself realize.

"I don't understand muggles," he paused and looked up, his mouth twisted in a shocked expression despite being full of food. "Not that you're a muggle, but y'know you said…"

Raveyn just nodded. He looked relieved and the flush that was slowly climbing up his ears seemed to fall back down.

"I mean I know they have a great time. And magic isn't everything but bloody hell it seems so dull." Ron remarked, his mouth still stuffed with some kind of unrecognizable food. Raveyn grinned at this and Harry shook his head fondly.

"At least muggles know not to talk with their mouthful Ron." Hermione said sharply but with a friend's teasing tone underneath. Ron tried to reply to this but his mouth was so full of food he just started choking. His face turning to shade of pink his ears had yet again turned.

"Heimlich time?" Harry asked, giving Raveyn a sidelong glance "you know how to do it right Raveyn you must have practice at it?" She looked at him, her eyes deadly and laughing at the same time.

"Well I wasn't really conscious when they did it to me but I've watched enough of Casualty to get the drift of it. Anyway he's ok, you should only worry when they stop making noises."

She told all three of them, a chip in her hand accentuating her point. "Right Ron?"

A strangled squeak came out of Ron's mouth.

"Right," Raveyn finished for him. They all laughed and finally Ron unblocked his windpipe. After several wild gestures and strange noises. He gasped for air and hurriedly drank down his water. Hermione let out a quiet "tut".

"That is why you shouldn't eat with your mouth full Ronald." She told him snippily.

Raveyn laughed, she thought she'd forgotten how to laugh so freely.

It was such a change from what had been her life over the past months. To be able to just laugh and talk without a cloud hanging over you all the time. To be around people who would tease and enjoy each other's company, it was if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. She could have easily been content watching them interact with each other all night.

Dinner was drawing to a close. Many had either finished or in the process of finishing their meal and the level of conversation grew. The Hall was alive with laughter and warm hum of friends reacquainting with each other. Ron stuffed his pockets with food and the lively conversation continued between the four of them.

* * *

Draco walked up to the Griffindor table, a place he rarely ventured to. Much to his dismay he saw Rave acting very friendly towards Granger, Weasley and worst of all Potter. He walked up behind Rave.

* * *

Both Ron and Harry saw him and immediately got ready for a confrontation.

Rave felt someone behind her and when she saw Harry and Ron's faces she knew who it was. Despite her best efforts she couldn't suppress the wish that Draco hadn't approached.

"Don't worry Potter I'm not here for you." He said viciously, his manner dismissive. Harry's face contorted from being ready to pounce to being consumed with hatred for Malfoy. Ron's face mirrored Harry's, Malfoy's eyes drifted to the slightly worn shoulders on Ron's robes. He didn't need to say a word to make Ron react the red head's ears turned pink and he swiftly looked down at the table, muttering something inaudible.

A sigh brought Malfoy back to his task. He looked down at Rave who locked her beautiful dark eyes with his, they shone with disappointment. Immediately he regretted falling back into his old routine with Harry and Ron.

He wanted to touch her cheek and tell her sorry but he couldn't. He wasn't in Rave's room anymore talking the day away. He was Malfoy, the Malfoy she had only seen in the beginning and occasionally saw around his father. He couldn't show the side he'd saved for her here, he'd be eaten alive, lose his reputation, or worse be prey for Potter and Weasley.

"Rave,_ you_ in _Griffindor_, father won't be pleased." He said with the same voice he'd used with Harry.

Raveyn couldn't believe what she was seeing! Malfoy was being the idiot he had been when they had first met.

She was angry, angry at him for being such an idiot, and angry at herself for letting him get to her. The adrenaline started to rush through her and she was glad of it.

"I don't do what Lucius says wants Draco, you know that of all people."

It pained him to she her face so indifferent, it was the face she used for his father seeing her look at him like that cut him to the bone. He took her hand and helped her stand up from the bench; quickly he led her a little away from everyone else. Not very far mind you, but far enough to show that his attention was on Raveyn and Raveyn alone.

Hermione raised an eyebrow. Harry just watched stunned.

Ron was ready to tie her to a stake and burn her.

Draco leaned into her no longer holding her hand.

"Sorry, it just comes out naturally here" Rave examined him for a second and then sighed and nodded, not looking at him.

"I know Draco, look I'm not asking you to be friends with them or even to be nice. Just if you could just not do it so much especially not when I'm around. I know you hate them all but I'm not in Slytherin and they're," she winced slightly knowing that the next word out of her mouth would annoy him no end, "nice." She wasn't pleading with him, far from it, but she knew that without this type of persuasion he would hold it against her. She didn't want that; she loved him after all, "please?"

"Fine" he said resignedly, "I'll do better" Smiling again he gave her a wink. "Night Rave."

"Night Draco." He leant in to kiss her, she wasn't big on public displays- Malfoy manor had knocked that straight out of her, but if she didn't let him he'd never let her forget it or trust her with Hermione, Ron, and Harry. So, she let him kiss her on the lips gently, painfully aware of the many eyes watching their every move.

When he saw her discomfort he felt his heart twinge slightly. He looked over her head to the Griffindor table and saw Harry watching him with growing anger and watching Raveyn with...as she began to walk away he grabbed her wrist.

"Promise me one thing." Raveyn studied him having never seen him act so strangely. He looked deep into her eyes "Never fall for Potter." He enunciated the word never with a calm aggression that caused Raveyn to shiver.

"I promise," She told him, her voice a little dazed. Her eyes scrutinizing his own as if looking for something, shaking her head she walked away from him. She hesitated for a second and turned back and flashed him a smile, before turning towards the Gryffindors again. For a few seconds he watched her walk back to her table before walking out of the dining hall, not quite sure what to think about the events of that night.

Raveyn returned to her seat with an awkward look on her face, aware of what everyone on the table was thinking she cringed slightly.

She usually didn't care what others thought of her but she had been so set on becoming friends with these people that she seemed to have gained a level of insecurity she thought she had put behind her long ago.

"He's really not that bad." She told them trying desperately to break the awkward silence that had descended on the four of them

All three of them raised their eyebrows. Raveyn looked down at the table, _just when I was having fun._


	5. So Vaguely Familiar

I don't own any of the characters except Raveyn

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She lay down next to the water, watching the patterns of refracted light play across the shed. She smiled at the night and dipped her hand in the pool allowing the warm water to slide through her fingers. The stars twinkled above her, she sighed and breathed in the moon. After a harrowing week of exams, Raveyn just wanted to close her eyes and sleep for a thousand years, so she did close them and waited for time to pass over her.

"Maybe I'll grow a beard," she whispered to no one in particular.

A cool breeze washed over her cheeks. She licked her lips and enjoyed the sweet feeling of the wind freezing her tongue and mouth, a gentle kiss. Her pool was surrounded by evergreens so as to dissuade any nosy neighbors from watching them as they took a dip. The breeze moved them and all around her seemed was this soft rustling, like running water; and yet, was there…something else? Her brow furrowed as she strained to hear the alien sound in amongst the rustling, something soft like folds of material brushing against each other…and shuffling, an almost soundless shuffling like a cat.

Her cat was inside.

Bruising pressure, she opened her eyes immediately and was greeting by two slanted black holes and jagged teeth. She screamed; at least, she thought she did, but nothing but air passed her front teeth. She tried again. Silence. The thing pulled her upward, the back of her legs grazed the rough slip-proof concrete she had been lying on; blood trickled down her leg. She lashed out, kicking, punching, biting, hurling herself out of the arms of her captor, but to no avail- he was too strong. She yelled and cried and shrieked in complete silence, which sent her into a frenzy. Even though she could breath, her unexplainable silence made her feel as if she was being suffocated. She only had one phobia that sent her into a true state of panic and that was being claustrophobic. She began to hyperventilate; her pulse raged past her temples, her vision began to fall into sparkling white dots like white noise on a television screen. Why couldn't she scream? Who was this? She tried to calm herself, see clearly through the haze that her mind had become through too much adrenaline. Mind over matter. Mind over matter. Mind over matter- a mantra she repeated over and over. Gathering all her remaining strength she pushed back against the thing, bent her knees and pushed forward away from him. Unbalanced, her kidnapper…rapist…demon lost her. Raveyn did not think, she ran. If she had thought she might have remembered the many shuffling sounds she had heard. Perhaps then she would have known how unlikely it was that she would be able to run the eight feet to pool gate, pull up the handle (which had a tendency of sticking) to open it, and then run another six or seven feet to the sliding door that led to her kitchen and not be caught by another dark figure.

But she was not thinking. She could not.

This is why it only came as a surprise to her that another pair of dark arms caught her and pulled her back, back towards the pool, back towards at least a dozen cloaks with animal skulls attached to their faces, back into the dark shadows of fir trees. She continued to struggle, but she could barely lift her arms- she was crashing, fast. Her sight was turning black, more hands took hold of her body, and she felt chains slide up her body and bind it. Her head flopped downward and she was forced to look at her bound body; she could not trust her eyes, she decided, as she could see no chains. A whisper of a memory crawled on all fours through her mind. Mind…over…matter. Desperate and half-dead she drew in a breath from her very soul.

"HELP!"

Over the sound of her own heartbeat she could just hear cloaked, shocked whispers.

"Petrificus Totalis."

Her body went rigid; her mouth could no longer move.

Raveyn collapsed with that last desperate cry and a slight bit of annoyance over a particularly painful scratch on the back of her neck.

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"Where is she?" The voice staled upon the air; it might have been human once. There was a hint of a person there, somewhere. There had been a childhood and a personality, but all of that seem muffled and distorted by the serpent in him. A human mouth which could not quite seem to form the vowels of animal or devil and yet a soul that could not…do anything anymore, let alone form the tone and feeling of a human voice.

The room was dark; the only light came from four large candles that flickered magically around a jade and emerald throne on which Voldemort sat. Occasionally the light danced upon the faces of the unmasked death eaters around them, but only momentarily. There did not need to be light, the only one that mattered, that needed to be seen was the Dark Lord. There was more than one reason for the Death Eaters cloaks to blend so easily with shadows.

"Crabbe and Goyle are standing by her upstairs in the main hall," a pause, "she's unconscious."

"I told you I needed her to be unharmed Alecto," there was an unspoken threat in the air.

"My Lord, she panicked at the silencing charm we placed upon her and fainted," Alecto kept his voice steady, only just.

"Very well. Good work Alecto."

"Thank you Master," a beat, "I was just wondering, my lord, what we should do with her now."

"What do you mean?" Impatience. Human, snake, dark wizard, or demon, Voldemort could express negative emotions with the best of them.

"Well, we have nowhere to put her sir. Right now she is asleep on the floor of the main hall."

"Narcissa," he did not need to shout. When Voldemort called a name the very shock of hearing it coming from a mouth that had terrorized so many could bring anyone to attention no matter how big of a room one was in. The figure stepped forward, curtsying deeply- since Lucius had been imprisoned she did all she could to pledge her loyalty to the Dark Wizard. She had opened her home to him and to all the death eaters, she fed them all, and her house elves served them, her wealth became their treasury and still she did not seem to find favor with him; not did her son.

"My lord."

"Find a place for her." The woman nodded and stepped back, along with Alecto, into the shadows, and disappeared into the shadows. Silently she found her way through the cool darkness and the gentle breeze created by passing through a crowd of billowing robes to the back of the room. She did not once bump into any man or any wall; Narcissa had a way of moving through darkness- she'd done so all her life after all.

She felt for the doorknob and with a gentle click it opened and with another it closed. She placed a hand on the cool stone of the stairwell and leaned her forehead against it. She stayed like that only for a moment, and then made her way up the two flights of stairs that led to the secret door made out of the large Tudor wood panelling that covered the Main Hall of Malfoy Manor.

Narcissa did not notice the beauty of the large domed skylight forty feet above her head, nor did she notice the way that the light from the two large windows half way up the wall- just above the arched, engraved, oaken doorway- seemed to dance on the faces of the priceless statues that had been recovered from the four corners of the globe when there had actually been four corners, even some recovered by a past Malfoy from Atlantis. The light made them look alive, ready to run up the two large staircases with the antique wooden banisters and white marble steps which led to the floor above, each ending on the east and west sides of the rectangular balcony that spread around the entire first floor, overlooking the main hall, and led to just the first of hundreds of rooms. No, Narcissa simply stalked across the marble floor, with white and burgundy squares, all the while being watched by dozens of pairs of eyes peering out of expensive frames and discussing the unconscious girl with long black hair that looked so vaguely familiar.

Both Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle jumped up at the sound of Narcissa's heels crossing the marble floor, but not fast enough for Narcissa to miss the way they had been oogling the unconscious girl and tracing the line of her body. She didn't say anything; she wouldn't have even if she wanted to. She did not look at them, but simply lifted her nose to the sky.

"Take her upstairs to my son's room. I'll have the house elves clear a room for her, but in the mean time I don't want her ruining the finish on this floor."

She watched as they lifted her up and carried her up the flight of stairs and then turning left, the first of a labyrinth of turns to reach her son's room. The girl would be unharmed there for the moment, more then she could have said had she put the girl in any of the other rooms- her husband had a habit of leaving very dangerous artefacts in the most spontaneous of places. For a moment her thoughts drifted to Reginald, the family greyhound who had an unfortunate rendezvous with rather barbaric Alaskan fir cone, but they soon went back to the girl. She had had difficulty pleasing the Dark Lord all those years ago as well, but more because she did not want to attend that _particular_ gathering of the Death Eaters. It was simply bad timing, Raveyn and Draco had been so close to each other in age and she had been a new mother. She'd kept Draco in a cradle next to her bed for months after that, but who could've blamed her after she had watched what they did to Raveyn.

Narcissa shrugged and stalked away from the Main Hall and went in search of her House Elf whistle. With her Nose firmly planted in the air, she whistled for Dobby's replacement, Agatha, hoping that the stupid thing had ironed its fingers after what a shoddy job it had done with mending that seam in her grey skirt.

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Author's Note

I've decided to change this story about a bit so it incorporates some of Book Six's plot since it fits in so well with the original story anyway. You'll probably see more of what I mean at about the 30th takes a deep breath (I think ) Anyway, there will be another chapter tomorrow thatI can I think I can continues the plot, and possibly another one after that that has a few more flashbacks and a bit more of the plot. We'll see how it goes.


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